NEC Begins Mass Production of Electrodes for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries for Automotive Applications

Tokyo, July 23, 2010 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) and NEC Energy Devices, Ltd. (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture), a wholly owned NEC subsidiary that develops and produces rechargeable high-capacity laminated lithium-ion batteries, announced today the beginning of mass production of electrodes for advanced lithium-ion batteries for automobiles at NEC’s Sagamihara Plant.

NEC Energy Devices will supply these electrodes to Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, a joint venture between NEC and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., to be used for advanced lithium-ion batteries for automobiles. The electrode production capacity is planned to reach more than 2 million kilo watt-hours (kWh) per year (battery capacity base) within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011.

Electrodes are central components of lithium-ion batteries and the highest level of quality management is required for their use with automotive applications. NEC Energy Devices’ production lines have achieved large scale mass production of superior quality by employing advanced clean air technologies cultivated through the semiconductor business, automatic inline monitors and quality stabilization technologies.

Going forward, as the market for lithium-ion batteries expands, NEC’s Sagamihara Plant is expected to gradually increase its production capacity for electrodes and to play a central role in the manufacturing of products that support the NEC Group’s Smart Energy and Green Business

The NEC Group aims to develop Smart Energy and Green Business based on lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications and energy storage systems, and to generate sales related to these systems of 100 billion yen in FY2012.

The production of electrodes for automotive lithium-ion batteries, as well as the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage systems, are each supported by “Invest Kanagawa” (Kanagawa Prefecture), the “STEP50 Industry Promotion Regulations” (Sagamihara City) and the “Regional Development Subsidy for Enterprises Creating Employment and Adding to a Low-Carbon Society” (Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry).